SBL Plans Cardiology and Bed Expansion Project

Sarah Bush Lincoln has submitted plans to the state to build a new Heart Center and add 20 medical surgical beds to the hospital.

An application for a certificate of need was submitted to the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board in early May.

The addition, which is planned for the southeast side of the Health Center, will span 65,235 square feet. The ground floor will house staff office space, Facility and Environmental Services, and mechanical rooms. The first floor will consolidate cardiac services including the addition of a second cardiac cath lab, 15 exam rooms for the cardiac and pulmonary clinic, rehab gym, stress testing, echo testing pulmonary, EKG, and nuclear medicine. The second floor will house 21 additional medical surgical rooms, however, an existing bed will be lost due to construction. The entire addition will be connected to each adjacent floor of the Health Center, including a new elevator going to the third and fourth floors.

Erica Stollard, Director of Planning explained that through a partnership with Prairie Heart Institute of Illinois, the volume of cardiology services has grown greatly in the last few years. While in calendar year 13, SBL performed 514 cardiac cath cases, it had grown to 889 in calendar 15. The cath lab performs diagnostic and interventional cases. It is currently staffed by Cardiologist Thomas Cahill, MD, Interventional Cardiologist Amit Dande, MD. A third cardiologist, Michael LaMonto, DO, will be joining the Heart Center in the fall.

Sarah Bush Lincoln has also experienced inpatient growth as well, growing from 3989 inpatients medical surgical admissions in calendar year 13 to 4,911 in calendar year 15. At the same time the average daily census grew from 53.6 to 61.2. The Medical Surgical beds are used to care for adults post surgery and for people with general illnesses such as pneumonia, congestive heart failure,

The total cost of the project is $31,184,013 and will be financed through a bond issuance, cash, pledges and gifts. If approved by the Health Facilities and Services Review Board, construction would begin in the fall 2016 and be complete by December 2019.

The addition will feature a drive up canopied entrance with a glass and metal façade on the west side and brick on the south and east sides.